31–40 of 52 posts
I couldn't take the article seriously after this. "Beginners" click icons and run applications. This works under Linux like any other OS. Anything more complex than that isn't going to be done by a "beginner" no matter what OS you're using.
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If you want to do anything "linuxey" with a Chromebook, don't you need to use something like Crouton and install a whole different distribution anyways? Is it even possible or simple to install ChromeOS on a Pi? Most projects related to ChromeOS on Pi seem to be dead. There's FlintOS, which had it's last update last month, but in the release notes: > We have disabled the root password briefly for improved security, s…
This doesn't require crouton or anything like that. https://skycocker.github.io/chromebrew/
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The Linux systems that get brought up in these arguments have a lot of non-default helper programs that obfuscate the underlying OS and remove really any reason to be using Linux in the first place other than it's free and it runs on everything. I mean, yeah Android is nice. And it technically runs Linux. But so does my wifi router... just because I plugged it in and logged into the web interface doesn't mean I can,…
> Does having a laptop that boots straight into a browser without showing anything lower level than that really count as Linux? Does it really make me a Linux user? That's the attitude that keeps Year of the Linux [whatever] from happening. Just because you haven't recompiled your kernel to get some odd library working doesn't mean you're not a Linux user. The idea of a true Linux user is a fallacy in league with the…
I don't think it's the attitude stopping it. I think it's that ChromeOS has a 0.82% market share and other Linux distros have a 1.66% market share, while Windows and Mac make up 95%
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The closest thing to a "Year of the Linux Desktop" is the growing popularity of ChromeOS. Nowhere near rivaling Windows, sure, but not entirely obscure either, and certainly not with a "steep learning curve" (come on MakeUseOf; it ain't 2005 anymore, you can cool it with the tired "Linux is hard to use" crap).
The Linux systems that get brought up in these arguments have a lot of non-default helper programs that obfuscate the underlying OS and remove really any reason to be using Linux in the first place other than it's free and it runs on everything. I mean, yeah Android is nice. And it technically runs Linux. But so does my wifi router... just because I plugged it in and logged into the web interface doesn't mean I can,…
Define "default". From the perspective of a user buying a Chromebook, the "helper programs" are very much the default.
Additionally, "helper programs that obfuscate the underlying OS" is pretty much the whole point of a desktop environment. I fail to see what point you're trying to make there.
"I mean, yeah Android is nice. And it technically runs Linux."
Which is really all that matters. We're talking about the Year of the Linux Desktop, not the Year of the KDE Desktop or the Year of the GNU Desktop.
Not that Android is (usually) a desktop OS, but whatever.
"But so does my wifi router... just because I plugged it in and logged into the web interface doesn't mean I can, with a straight face, claim that I am a Linux user."
Sure you can. You're not a Linux desktop user, but you still use Linux in some capacity rather than, say, VxWorks or IOS.
"Does having a laptop that boots straight into a browser without showing anything lower level than that really count as Linux? Does it really make me a Linux user?"
I think it does. It'd be no different from being a Windows user who only uses a web browser.
The author's points are valid. However, there's no recognition of the tremendous marketing, documentation, training, community & ecosystem surrounding the platform. These things are real, they are as real as any code that's written. They are as real as any hardware. So yes, the Raspberry Pi is a great, fantastic introduction into this IOT world. The security problems are real, that should be the first thing attended…
Now take this comment and insert WordPress instead of Raspberry Pi :) Ubiquity and ease-of-use will win over security.
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The Linux systems that get brought up in these arguments have a lot of non-default helper programs that obfuscate the underlying OS and remove really any reason to be using Linux in the first place other than it's free and it runs on everything. I mean, yeah Android is nice. And it technically runs Linux. But so does my wifi router... just because I plugged it in and logged into the web interface doesn't mean I can,…
> Does having a laptop that boots straight into a browser without showing anything lower level than that really count as Linux? Does it really make me a Linux user? That's the attitude that keeps Year of the Linux [whatever] from happening. Just because you haven't recompiled your kernel to get some odd library working doesn't mean you're not a Linux user. The idea of a true Linux user is a fallacy in league with the…
I never said you had to compile a kernel to be a Linux user... I'm just not sure if an appliance really counts.
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The Linux systems that get brought up in these arguments have a lot of non-default helper programs that obfuscate the underlying OS and remove really any reason to be using Linux in the first place other than it's free and it runs on everything. I mean, yeah Android is nice. And it technically runs Linux. But so does my wifi router... just because I plugged it in and logged into the web interface doesn't mean I can,…
Yes it does. What kind of question is that? With the same logic you can claim that no Windows user that doesn't know how to use "obscure" Windows tools is a Windows user. What you are talking about is a "Power User" or admin. Fuck when every Desktop would run ChromeOS would you still claim it wasn't the year of the Linux desktop? Ubuntu tries to hide every "linuxy" aspect and make it user friendly. So people using Ub…
Likewise if I've used an ATM or a mall kiosk that was based on Windows, I'd hardly call myself a Windows user. I'm not talking about an admin or a power user. I'm talking about someone being aware at a basic level what kind of system they're using. My grandma knows she's using Windows.
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The Linux systems that get brought up in these arguments have a lot of non-default helper programs that obfuscate the underlying OS and remove really any reason to be using Linux in the first place other than it's free and it runs on everything. I mean, yeah Android is nice. And it technically runs Linux. But so does my wifi router... just because I plugged it in and logged into the web interface doesn't mean I can,…
"non-default helper programs" Define "default". From the perspective of a user buying a Chromebook, the "helper programs" are very much the default. Additionally, "helper programs that obfuscate the underlying OS" is pretty much the whole point of a desktop environment. I fail to see what point you're trying to make there. "I mean, yeah Android is nice. And it technically runs Linux." Which is really all that matters…
Do you? Because it doesn't seem like it. I didn't exactly stutter.
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Now take this comment and insert WordPress instead of Raspberry Pi :) Ubiquity and ease-of-use will win over security.
My job is trying to get ambivalent people to take security seriously, and I'd like to amend your statement. Ubiquity and ease-of-use will win over security as long as security professionals insist on cumbersome practices . Nonsensical password complexity rules. The absolutely asinine technology we have to encrypt emails. Third-party antivirus software. Patches forcing a reboot (hell, patches needing a reboot). Encryp…
I find this is usually at odds with your original statement. Current security practices are almost entirely a security/utility trade off, we make things secure by locking systems down so the user can do less or has to jump through hoops to do it. The iPhone is the perfect example of this, it's only secure because it's limited in what can be installed or run by the user.